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Houston's finest practice marimbas delivered to your door.

Marimbas hand-crafted and tuned in Missouri City, Texas by Mike Rowntree.
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"What makes Rowntree Marimbas so unique is the combination of an artisan level woodworker and marimba maker (Mike Rowntree) and a symphony level percussion educator coming together to help students thrive. When I met Mike, I knew we had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create something special for the community."

Joshua Vonderheide of The Percussion Conservatory and Co-Founder of Rowntree Marimbas

-Joshua Vonderheide
Founder and CEO | The Percussion Conservatory
Co-Founder | International Timpani Intensive
Proudly endorsed by Majestic Percussion 
Regular Timpani and Percussion Sub | Houston Symphony
M.M. The Juilliard School

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Superior Design

Rowntree Marimbas frames are built out of solid hardwood for superior durability and beauty. The graduated widths and rounded accidentals on our bars help students make the transition to concert grand marimbas.

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Free Delivery in Houston

Nobody makes it easier than us. Select the best payment plan for you and we bring the marimba right to your door. No complicated rental agreements or driving to do, just order and it comes to your door!

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Superior Wood

Our West African Padouk is the best wood available for practice marimbas. We purchase less than 20% of the boards that come from a single tree, selecting only strong bars with a clear and resonant sound.

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Free Online Classes

When you rent or buy a marimba with Rowntree Marimbas you get access to free online classes! All students who rent or buy with us get free access to our upcoming "courses" section with Joshua Vonderheide.

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Superior Tuning

Rentals from other companies are often beaten, battered, and out of tune. We hand-tune our bars for marimbas that sound beautiful year after year. All of our marimbas come in-tune at delivery.

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Member of the Community

We are a growing and proud part of the percussion community of Houston, and are excited to provide great instruments and world-class education for our local students. We look forward to meeting you soon.

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Our Story

In 2022, Mike Rowntree and Joshua Vonderheide were just neighbors in Missouri City, Texas.

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On the surface, Mike was a furniture maker and Josh was a percussionist. Simple as that.​​

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One day while sipping a coffee and chatting about how to save the world, Josh mentioned to Mike that there was a problem with rental marimbas in Houston: they were beaten, battered, out of tune, and expensive. Josh grew up here in Lake Jackson, Texas (just south of Houston) and as a preivous 6th - 12th grade percussion student of legendary percussion pedagogue Eric Harper, he really felt like students and parents were getting a raw deal.

The solution? Rowntree Marimbas.

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Josh and Mike worked together to create a world-class marimba that would prepare a student to make the transition from smaller practice marimbas to full size marimbas as they become more advanced into high school and beyond. Mike's tuning and craftsmanship on these instruments is world-class.

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Mike makes Rowntree Marimbas in small batches, using only the highest quality materials with a dedication to detail that exceeds other marimbas on the market. They feature professional-level upgrades like graduated bar sizes and rounded accidentals, previously found only on premium instruments made for advanced students and professionals.

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But we didn't want to just stop at making marimbas, we wanted to provide free education for all our students, too. That's why Josh is building an online "courses" section to this website RIGHT NOW! Students can already dive in for free at The Percussion Conservatory once they begin their rental or purchase a marimba with us. We highly recommend reaching out to your personal percussion director and asking them if our courses are a good fit for your student.

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We can't wait to meet you and help you on your percussion journey!

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